Hurricane Ophelia (East)
Hurricane Ophelia was a long lived deadly hurricane that struck the Lesser Antilles, Caribbean, and the continental United States in September of 2023. It was the sixteenth depression, fifteenth storm, thirteenth hurricane, and sixth major hurricane in the hyperactive 2023 Atlantic hurricane season. It was also the third Category 5 hurricane out of five. It currently is the deadliest hurricane in the 2023 season, as well as the costliest hurricane and the second lowest pressure (887 mbar) after Hurricane Wilma in 2005. Meteorological History On September 6, a tropical wave was developed off the coast of Africa, gradually moving towards the Lesser Antilles. On September 8th, the wave was declared to have a 90% chance of forming into a cyclone, which it formed into and and the NHC declared it the sixteenth depression of the season. After travelling into waters with favorable sea temperatures and atmospheric conditions, Sixteen then developed into Tropical Storm Ophelia the next day, becoming the fifteenth tropical storm. On September 9, Ophelia began to rapidly intensify, entering waters as warm as 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius) as well as atmospheric conditions fueled moisture inside the core, building storm cells and creating as well defined eyewall, as well as a wide eye. Airplanes detected gale-force winds and the storm became the thirteenth hurricane with The storm then strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane with wind speeds of 95 knots (110mph/177km/h). Ophelia then gradually moved towards the Leeward Islands. On September 10 at 04:00 UTC Ophelia entered abnormally hot waters in the Caribbean and strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane with winds of 108 knots (125mph/201km/h). The hurricane then moved on to make continuous landfalls in the Leeward Islands: Antigua and Barbuda at 05:30 UTC, St. Kitts and Nevis at 07:00 UTC, and the Virgin Islands at 09:00 UTC. After exiting the Virgin Islands, Ophelia strengthened into a Category 4 major hurricane, greatly threatening Puerto Rico. At 14:00 UTC, Ophelia made landfall at Palmas del Mar in southern Puerto Rico. The storm continued on its path of destruction and impacted the Dominican Republic at 18:00 UTC. Two hours later at 20:00 UTC, Ophelia crosses into Haiti, and impacted the southern half of the country. After leaving Haiti, Ophelia re-entered the Caribbean Sea. Record temperatures of 92 degrees Fahrenheit (33 degrees Celsius) along with never before seen low wind shear and atmospheric conditions caused Ophelia to grow to a monster Category 5 hurricane with winds of 152 knots (175mph/281km/h) and a minimal pressure of 890 hPa. Over the next few hours, Ophelia would keep strengthening until landfall at Guantanamo Bay In Southern Cuba at 04:00 UTC. The storm would ravage southern Cuba for the next two hours until the storm re-entered the Caribbean Sea. Ophelia than strengthened again, this time hitting peak intensity with winds of 169 knots (195mph/313km/h) and a minimal pressure of 887 hPa on at 08:30 UTC. Half an hour later, Ophelia would make landfall on the Isle of Youth at near peak intensity. After an hour, the storm turned to the north and made landfall near La Coloma, Cuba at 10:00 UTC. At 12:00 UTC, Ophelia left the Cuban island and went through an eyewall replacement cycle, weakening it to a Category 4 hurricane as it traveled towards the Florida panhandle. Ophelia would temporarily regain Category 5 strength but immediately weaken back to Category 4 strength a few hours later. On September 13 at 06:00 UTC Ophelia weakened to a Category 3 hurricane. Over the next few hours, the storm would continue its path towards Florida until landfall near Pensacola at 18:00 UTC as a weakening Category 3 hurricane. In two hours, Ophelia would cross into Alabama and here the storm would start rapidly weakening. On September 14 Ophelia weakened back into Category 1 hurricane strength before turning towards the Appalachian Mountains. At 13:00 UTC the storm started slowing even more and weakened into tropical storm status. The next day the storm weakened into a depression and at 09:00 UTC Ophelia dissipated and its remains were absorbed into another extratropical storm near Roanoke, Virginia. Preparations Leeward Islands As the Category 3 storm neared the Leeward Islands, the government of Antigua and Barbuda issued a hurricane warning for the entire country and urged people to evacuate to higher ground, notably on Barbuda island. Citizens quickly stocked up on supplies and evacuated, accumulating in very few deaths in Antigua and Barbuda. In St. Kitts and Nevis, the country issued a hurricane warning for St. Kitts and a tropical storm warning for Nevis island. The warning quickly changed into a hurricane warning as Ophelia strengthened into a Category 3 storm. As well as the warnings, the government urged people to evacuate to areas of large supply, such as St. Kitts island. The governments of both the U.S, Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands issued hurricane warnings and urged peopled to evacuate the islands to Florida or the Bahamas. Many people stocked up supplies and evacuated, however the islands weren’t prepared for Ophelia’s strengthening into Category 4 strength, causing more rain and damage. Puerto Rico and Hispaniola ''' Governor of Puerto Rico Thomas Rivera Schatz issued a statement the storm, stating that the hurricane was ”extremely dangerous and unpredictable” and ordered all on the eastern and southern coasts to evacuate immediately to the northern end of the island. As well as evacuations, the government put out hurricane warnings for the entire territory. Already weakened by previous storms such as Irma and Maria in 2017, the territory was prepared for another major hurricane to blow through. Ophelia struck the island on September 10, causing widespread damage and flooding, but ultimately fewer deaths due to preparations by the island. Over Hispaniola, both governments of Haiti and the Dominican Republic issued a hurricane warning and told people to evacuate from inland and southern areas to the northern coast. This proved essential, as when Ophelia impacted the island, massive mudslides were caused leading to a high death toll for people that didn’t evacuate. Haiti, already stricken by many hurricanes along with earthquakes and political strife, had its capital Port Au Prince almost completely destroyed and many others caught under landslides. Overall, President of Haiti Jovenel Moïse stated that “the storm set back Haiti 25 years in economic development.” '''Cuba By far the worst impacted place was Cuba, specifically on the Isle of Youth. Before the storm hit, the Cuban government and meteorologists expected a weakening storm instead of the Category 5 monster. The nation set hurricane warnings for southern Cuba and the Isle of Youth. However, the hurricane became Category 5 just before it grazed the nation. In Nuevo Gerona, many survivors said the city looked like “a glimpse of hell” due to its destruction. The storm than took an unexpected turn north, completely taking northern Cuba off guard. Heavy destruction took place here. United States The governments of Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi all declared a state of emergency along the Gulf Coast, and ordered people living there to evacuate, especially in Pensacola. 200,000 people evacuated altogether, which helped limit the number of deaths in the United States. The storm devastated the coast and the South east of the United States, however few lives were lost and supplies were quickly airlifted into the cities affected after the storm. Impact The impact of Hurricane Ophelia was a massive one, especially in the hardest hit nations; Cuba and Haiti. The storm caused several improvements in warning systems, as well as better and more accurate system trackers. On a more negative note, the storm, according to the president of Haiti set back Haiti’s economic growth by 25 years, as well as destroying many banana crops growing in the Leeward Islands. The Isle of Youth with the nation of Cuba was arguably the worst hit area, due to Ophelia making landfall at peak intensity. The storm devastated the island and all it’s crops, as well as <95% of the buildings in Nuevo Gerona. In the United States, widespread damage was done to the Gulf Coast, as well as the south-eastern United States. On a more humanitarian note, the storm caused a crisis in Mexico and the United States where refugees fled their homes due to destruction. Due to this, the storm name was retired. Retirement On April 11, 2024 at the 46th session of the RA IV hurricane committee, the World Meteorological Organization retired the name Ophelia from its rotating names list due to the amount of damage and deaths caused by the storm, especially in Cuba and Haiti, meaning its name will never be used again for an Atlantic hurricane. It will be replaced with ''Olaf ''for the 2029 Atlantic hurricane season. Category:Category 5 hurricanes Category:Atlantic hurricanes Category:Deadly storms Category:Costly storms